SUQQU – SUMMER 2016

I have received some goodies from Suqqu, tears of joy!! My love towards Suqqu started many years ago, when Suqqu still carried mono shadows and when they still had the mythical Suqqu S in their current line. I have been using Suqqu for so long, always praising both its wearability and layering capabilities. I would love to know if Suqqu is new to you, or if you have been using this brand for a while! I don’t remember where or when I got the bug but it escalated really quick to reach huge proportions today and as a result almost got all the palettes released since then.

I was in the car -not driving I assure you- while I unpacked this, we both saw the bright palettes, my bf asked me if I intended to wear these, “I guess….. I don’t know… but it’s Suqqu…. so it should be fine…I guess…?!”

Didn’t we all want Suqqu to release daring palettes and bold lipsticks? Yes, I was even the first in line begging for it and you, and I, got served, two super bold palettes, I am visualizing a peacock in an apocalyptic sunset and at first sight neither of these seemed like a viable option for my ageing eyes 😀

I believe everything you’ll see here is sadly limited edition as it is part of the summer 2016 collection, I have a doubt regarding the creamy glow lipsticks and will keep you posted about it.
I got these items for free but I’ll mention it is the first time I get something from Suqqu PR!

BLEND COLOR EYESHADOW EX-30 Hekikai and EX-31 Gyoukou

Suqqu tags this collection as “playful-yet-wearable“, reflecting ancient Japanese Kimonos inspired by the colours or themes “Kasaneiro” or “Awaseiro”. Each of these palettes contain 3 matte shades and 1 shimmer, they say the shimmer can be used as a wash to tie the colours together and take the look from day to night.

Before I go any further I have to say that the swatches are not always reflecting the intensity they deserve, I am really unhappy with that and until I get someone here to help me with the lighting and the camera it will be unsatisfying, that’s why I rarely post about make-up, neither can I take great pics of swatches, nor can I reflect their beauty on my ageing and currently really puffy pregnant lids and face but I am still really happy to be able to post this and share my thoughts with you. If you click on the pics, eventually they will open in better quality and contrast.

UPDATE: I found out it was a bug with the WordPress resize and found a way to keep the original colors more true to reality!

SUQQU EX-30 Hekikai

Inspired by Japanese dramatic summer scenes, cool deep blue oceans, fresh green grass and bright blue skies.  It is a very unusual palette for Suqqu, once again, scary at first but eventually, faster than you think, you will master it.

• The white is just like the EX-31, something to start your canvas or to give it a bit of light at the end.
• The turquoise is the only shimmery shade, applies beautifully and the pigment is strong enough to allow an opaque application.
• The lime green is the most unusual twist for Suqqu, this shade will scare some of you and delight many others, I wish it had a slightly shimmery effect or a more heavy pigment, on my eyes it doesn’t stand out the way I want to as I have a huge lot of skin imperfections around the eyes, but with a white creamy base I reach the result I want.
• The dark blue has a hint of blackcurrant, I can’t really define it. This pan’s texture has more grip and stickiness than usual Suqqu shadows.

The turquoise shade is very similar to the the Anastasia Tamanna palette, the Anastasia is a little bit more opaque and the shimmer is more obvious when layered, the Suqqu remains silkier and a more see-through.

TF Last Danse has a thin dark blue base, just the help of the sparkles are turning it turquoise.

TF Midnight Sea is more about the glitter and with less opacity, you have to layer a lot if you want to have a thick base and it’s better to layer on top of a cream shadow so that the glitter has a more decent stickiness.

I have a very similar lime green shadow from Mac, unfortunately, I have no idea what shade this is, could be a pro shade, an LE or from a quad, the finish is between matte and satin, not really a satin but more silky than usual Mac mattes, it’s exactly same colour as the Suqqu but I couldn’t tell the name! I have been searching for swatches that would correspond on the web without success, since it’s a depot from well before I started this blog, I haven’t kept the name underneath 🙁  If you know, please give me ideas as I am totally desperate trying to find it!

The dark blue shade is extremely similar to the Suqqu 01 Kakitsubata, the Kakitsubata has a bit more purple in it but so slightly that unless you know they aren’t the same, you won’t notice. I prefer the texture of the Kakitsubata, it feels easier to work with and airy, but the EX-31 has more grip or “stickiness” (for a powder) and can be applied with more intensity which fits well into this palette’s theme and purpose, which also results on a more lasting power for the EX-31.

I have seen promotional pictures and gorgeous looks online, all were elegant and the texture definitely helps sustain its elegance. I wanted to show you that you can layer the green and turquoise  shadows and how they can stand out but my camera fades out their intensity 🙁  By the way, I admit that I cheated with the white pencil (Shu Uemura M White 91), but I definitely think the lime green looks better with a white base.

Believe me the pic is terrible and we cannot fully appreciate its beauty but it does look amazing in real life! Have a look at this link for official pics.

Not a palette I would wear to the office on its own, but I will definitely wear it on the weekends and evenings. For an office type of look, I use this Hekikai dark blue as a bottom lash line and connect it at the outer v with the dark purple of the Suqqu 04 Keshizumi, then with the 04 Keshizumi taupe on the lid. That combination looks absolutely amazing! Probably my top fav look of 2016 so far.

SUQQU EX-31 Gyoukou

Inspired by earthy scenes, Suqqu refers to it as “glaring sunshine filtering down through the trees“…but after having used it, I refer to it as a rise of an apocalyptic sunset. It seriously delivers to a whole new level and when Suqqu is most of the time on the sheer side targeting light to medium skin, this one would suit any skin tones and specially look insanely gorgeous on darker skin.

I have used it several times, a nice prepped canvas is required to have the whole look stand out nicely but it looks absolutely stunning and unusual, for those of you who love to tickle colourful applications, you will be burning of desire for that neon orange and the gold adds a dramatic final touch!

• The white matte shade preps the lid, smooths and whitens, it isn’t powdery at all. Doesn’t show much.
• The only shimmery shade, this dark yellow gold shade is so bold that I don’t have a similar shade in my collection at all! There are similar shades out there but I just don’t own any of them.
• The orange has the best formula of this quad, it’s a matte with such strong pigment that the lasting powder could almost be counted in days… It’s up to you how much intensity you want as it is buildable, applies like no other and I am really wishing for Suqqu to please keep this formula in a secret safe and release it over and over, just different shades so that I can target more day to day applications 😀
  There should be a special mention for those type of formulas. I left it on during the night, shame on me I forgot to remove it and then I was too lazy to get up but now I can say that it looks even better in the morning, the lids remain so smooth and the application had faded in a very gorgeous way, thrilling, almost tempted to apply it in the evening for the day after!
• The brown shade is more aligned with other textures we have seen from Suqqu, it’s good, but within the whole Suqqu collection you may notice that some dark shades are more opaque than others, this is not the most opaque they released but on the other hand it remains buildable.

I’ll just ignore the white shade for the comparisons since it wasn’t showing enough to show you obvious differences.

As I said, the yellow gold is nothing similar to others I own, I swatched the 15 Mitsucha but it doesn’t have the same warmth and strong gold accent.

Nars Taj Mahal blush is the shimmery version of the orange EX-31, very close in colour just a different finish. If you mix a bit of EX-31 yellow gold on top of the EX-31 orange, the result is simply a perfect lovely Nars Taj Mahal 😀 but you have to know that this Suqqu combination has way more lasting power than a heavily packed Taj Mahal blush.

The brown is very similar to 03 Matsukasa, if I had to choose, I do prefer Matsukasa’s dark brown, I just found it easier to work with.

Who can easily wear orange eyes at work, specially at the office? Not all of us, not me for sure, however, if you love these shades, don’t resist it as this will rock your world.

I know this is not the best way to show case this palette, but I definitely can’t take proper pics anyway… I have barely any make-up on, my lids are not what they used to be, wearing a hint of Ellis Faas foundation with this Suqqu palette and the Suqqu Lip Crayon,  it’s important to have a nice prepped canvas which I didn’t have here 🙂

Some layered swatches of both palettes:

SUQQU EYE AND CHEEK COLOR COMPACT EX-01 Rikkakou

Just like the orange shade on Gyoukou, the formula of this brown shade needs safe-storing for future releases, AMAZING! It is opaque enough, so silky that it made me squeak! Absolutely my type of finish: a layer-able satin, shines but it’s not shimmery, unfortunately this is not a complex shade but the pink is here to add more dimension where and when you need to, so if you are like me, you can wear this shade on the lid or portions of the lid as well as in the crease, then the pink just where you want to. The pink shade is glittery but those silvery pink sparkles bring to the duo a very lovely sexy hot twist.

The brown is opaque enough to define the lashline so at the end you may use only this duo for the whole look.

Below, from left to right, the brown shade, the brown and pink mixed, the pink shade, the cheek shades and last swatch is the cheeks mixed together.

The Suqqu eye duo reminded me of the IPSA eye color in #01, but when I swatched them together the shades are totally different, the IPSA brown leans more grey/purple and the IPSA pink is more beige/gold, the colours of the IPSA are truly gorgeous but the pigmentation is so much better on the Suqqu!  When you mix both Suqqu shades you get very close to the complexity of the dark side of the IPSA!

Suqqu EX-01 vs Ipsa #01

SUQQU EYE AND CHEEK COLOR COMPACT EX-02 Natsuyuuka

I love the sheer coral blush, it shows on my light to medium skin (NW20), the finish is the same as the duo pink, something in between a powder and a cream, difficult to pick up unless you have nice strong tools. It makes the cheeks look fresh, glowy, both the coral and the pink blushes have a glow but they aren’t shimmery.

The shadows in this EX-02 palette don’t have the same finish as the EX-01, the dark grey/petrol green is more shimmery and opaque, the beige brown is also sparkly just like the pink in EX-01. The dark shade reminds me of a car paint, depending on the light or angle it turns more grey or more green or more blue or shimmery, it’s a dream to work with it in terms of texture and it’s very pigmented.

I have two shadows that reminded me of this palette, the Dolce Gabbana Royal and the Stromboli, these are cream shadows but it’s the most similar shades I own, DG Stromboli has those similar shimmery particles but fewer and the base is less opaque. The DG cream shadows are of amazing quality, they are more hard work to apply than powder shadows but they have a better lasting power so if you are after cream shadows, have a look at DG asap!

The cheek duos are difficult to pick up so you’ll need a very strong brush, forget the Suqqu cheek brush and use something like the Rae Morris Kabuki or the Wayne Goss 14.

THE CREAMY GLOW LIPSTICK MOIST AND THE COLOR BALM CRAYONS

The Color Balm Crayons seem to be Limited Edition, however I am not 100% sure about these Creamy Glow Lipsticks as Suqqu mentions “they join the Creamy Glow Lipstick Moist range“, temporarily or for ever? I will check that out for you before their release. They do have “EX” in the name but not sure this strictly applies to all things Limited when it comes to lipsticks.

Creamy Glows vs Color Balm Crayons

COLOR BALM CRAYONS EX-01 涼紅 (cool red?)  Suzubeni and EX-02 艶珊瑚 (gloss coral?) Tsuyasango

Not sure about the translations… 😀

The EX-01 is opaque on the lips, with two layers it covers the full colour of my natural lips, it’s a raspberry red on me, a very strong and glossy color that lasts a couple of hours then slowly fades to a beautiful even stain, leaving the lips very comfortable for several hours, it’s non-sticky, the more you layer it, the glossier and bolder it gets! I do not need a lipliner around this and it doesn’t bleed but I do need a mirror! I will pair this EX-01 in summer with little eye makeup, just liner and mascara as it looks quite strong on my lips.

The EX-02, gloss coral, is the type of shade I apply on a day to day basis, it’s glossy indeed and it tones down the colour of my natural lips, really lovely and really appropriate when you are at work, if you don’t want to apply lipstick in between meetings but you want comfort and glossiness without it looking like lipstick, this is perfect. I use it most of the time on top of the Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip 2C so that it stays a bit more defined for longer.

The comfort is really good, I don’t feel plumping but I can feel my lips smoother and even improving their softness the more I use it, honestly between this color balm and a typical lip balm I can’t see much difference.

No need of a mirror as the coverage is not opaque like the other EX-01.

Creamy Glow Lipstick Moist EX-20 Hyaku Daidai and EX-21 Sen Ka

Two full coverage shades with these new creamy glows, the EX-20, the coral shade, contains micro sparkle particles, I hate glitter or sparkles in lipsticks cause I can feel them and that truly bothers me a lot, but I cannot feel them here so I am safe with these. To me the EX-20 is a must have, once again it’s totally my type of shade, it’s an orange coral that can be either be applied quite sheer with a lip brush, or layered and really opaque and dramatic.

I am also pairing this shade with the Make Up For Ever C2 lip liner.

I usually wear a Dr. Hauschka lipstick that has similar tones but since it has an annoying medicine scent, I will definitely replace it with this Suqqu 🙂

Suqqu vs Dr Hauschka

Below I am wearing the EX-20, two coats applied with a brush.  I used the Tom Ford Gold Dust bronzing powder to make it look a bit more like a summer look 😀 I am wearing the blush from the Eye and Cheek Color Compact EX-02 and the Hekikai palette.

The EX-21 is a bright full coverage pink/plum with blue undertones, so strong that I prefer to apply it with a brush and keep the colour soft, so you can see what a soft layer of this lipstick can deliver! I was playing with the Hekikai again and wearing the pink blush from the Eye and Cheek Color Compact EX-01.

In this summer collection Suqqu will also release two nail polishes, a red and a jade green and also an extra volume mascara.

Bottom line: 

I love this collection, some products I would definitely repurchase over and over again, like the Hekikai palette, the gloss coral Lip Crayon and the coral/orange Creamy Moist glow, these are my top favs.

I have played with the Hekikai palette a lot and the more I use it, the more I love it, actually I became obsessed with it, just makes me happy to use it, every look can be so different. This is not a palette I would have chosen if I was purchasing but now I really want a second one! I have seen several looks online with it, all of them gorgeous and unique, a spot on palette for summer and a must-have if you are not afraid of colour and even if you are, chances are this will change your mind.

Any other shadows that will be released with the same formula as the orange one in Gyoukou are MINE!!!
I hope they will release more Color Balm crayons as I probably will be getting them all!

This Suqqu summer collection will be available as of 28th of April 2016 in Selfridges and if you want to reserve some items, write to them as they will be able to help (suqquuk@eqpuk.com), if you have questions in the meantime, please drop me a little comment below 🙂